Please Help with my SoCal Itinerary

[PatsGirl]

Myself and DD14 will be coming into LA for a Mexican Riviera Cruise Sunday 4/10-17 and then spending another seven nights. We want to stay in the Anaheim/LA area for three nights and then head to San Diego for four nights (we fly out of there).

So, we'll have Sunday am through anytime Wednesday in one place and then from there until Saturday am in San Diego. With the SoCal pass we can do a couple of days at DL and a day at Universal but we'd also like to see the sights (Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive) ~ what else would interest a 14 year old girl? I have no idea Should I rent a car for this leg of the trip? I was thinking of taking Amtrak to San Diego...

In San Diego we want to visit a friend for a few hours (most likely have dinner together), go the zoo and SW. Does the zoo take all day?

So, factoring in busy days, traffic patterns, travel time, etc. how would you set up the trip? I've spent nearly a week going through the forums and really don't feel I've got a good grip on this trip, unlike my WDW trips of which I am a pro

I was thinking heading straight to Universal on Sunday for a day, spending overnight close by there (Sheraton/Hilton??), doing the touristy LA things on Monday am then heading to Candy Cane Inn, checking in early Monday afternoon, going to DL that night and again on Tuesday. Maybe head to San Diego Wednesday morning for a pool day and dinner with friend. Do the zoo on Thursday and SW on Friday? Any reason I should switch days, do we need more time for DL (we get three days so we could do 1/2 day on Wed or even a full day but I was thinking with traffic it might be best to leave after lunch? then again I'm thinking of taking the train too)

Now I'm even more confused....please help us, pretty please. All comments and suggestions are welcome

 

[sonnyjane]

Renting a car would certainly be the easiest method, since the train doesn't come near SW or the zoo, so you'd have to take a cab or bus when you get here. If that's too expensive, though, I know it's been done before by people on these boards, I just have never taken it personally.

Regarding if the zoo is a full-day event - absolutely. I work at the zoo, and I still discover new things all the time. It is GIGANTIC. The same goes for Sea World. They are both full-day parks.

As far as how much time you want to spend in Disneyland, well, this IS a Disneyland forum, so of course we think the more time there, the better! From what you mentioned, it looks like you're only going half of Monday and all of Tuesday. I think you'd like to add one more day to that. Between Disneyland AND California Adventure, a day and a half might not be enough, especially if you want to see something like World of Color. If you have the time, I'd add another day making it 2.5, but if you don't, you can still accomplish a lot in 1.5 days since your DD is 14 and you can probably go at a faster pace if you have to.

 

[taaren]

Myself and DD14 will be coming into LA for a Mexican Riviera Cruise Sunday 4/10-17 and then spending another seven nights. We want to stay in the Anaheim/LA area for three nights and then head to San Diego for four nights (we fly out of there).
....
I was thinking heading straight to Universal on Sunday for a day, spending overnight close by there (Sheraton/Hilton??), doing the touristy LA things on Monday am then heading to Candy Cane Inn, checking in early Monday afternoon, going to DL that night and again on Tuesday. Maybe head to San Diego Wednesday morning for a pool day and dinner with friend. Do the zoo on Thursday and SW on Friday? Any reason I should switch days, do we need more time for DL (we get three days so we could do 1/2 day on Wed or even a full day but I was thinking with traffic it might be best to leave after lunch? then again I'm thinking of taking the train too)

Like the above poster mentioned, I'd definitely give DL more time. In fact I'd give L.A. area more time in general, and shave a day off of San Diego since all you want is the zoo and SW there (two best attractions, definitely) and then on one of those evenings you could spend time with your friend.
And yes, to do these things renting a car would be best. Unfortunately that also means try to avoid being on the road anytime between 6a-9a and 3:30p-7p due to L.A. traffic. I usually try to set us up at a hotel nearest whatever attraction I visit the following morning, so we do one attraction, dinner nearby, and drive into the next hotel around 8p.
If you're heading to Northern L.A. right after you land, I'd start at the northernmost point and do Magic Mountain if your daughter is at all into thrill rides. Teenagers tend to love those crazy coasters and supposedly its one of the best coaster park after Cedar Point. Then I'd stay near Universal that evening (which only takes 1/2 day, btw, its not that big), and leave around two to park the car in Hollywood, look at the Stars on the pavement, and maybe see a stage production? Wicked's not playing at the Pantages anymore unfortunately but something decent probably is. Then that night I'd head into Disneyland for full days Tuesday and Wednesday, before going SW and zoo Thurs/Friday and see your friend. Or trade one of the first two days for a third day at DL. I take it your flight leaves early on Saturday so that's not really an option to accomplish any attractions?
We usually stay at Marriotts when we're not at Disney since we collect points, so can't help you much on the hotel front.
Just some thoughts.

 

[PatsGirl]

Thank you both for your responses

Should I forget about Universal and just do the 2 1/2 days at DL and 1/2 day of LA tourist spots? Is anything open on Sundays in LA (stores in Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive, the farmers' markets, that sort of thing?) I don't think we'll bother with Magic Mt. as we already have at least four days of parks and we are not big into coasters. Do you recommend the Starline hop on/hop off bus for LA or are we better off parking and walking from spot to spot. And, is there a special place we should go for lunch that DD might "know"

As for renting a car, I'll have to price it. I was really hoping to cab it from the hotel in SAN to SW, zoo, and the airport so I'll spend some time crunching those numbers. I'll also have to check the distance from the train station to the hotel at Pacific Beach.

World of Color is a definite and we'll try to do a 9 pm show. Our regular park routine is to arrive at rope drop (8 am or so) and stay until about 8 or 9. We are able to get through each WDW park in one 12 hour day so I was hoping we could do the same at DL.

 

[sonnyjane]

Thank you both for your responses



As for renting a car, I'll have to price it. I was really hoping to cab it from the hotel in SAN to SW, zoo, and the airport so I'll spend some time crunching those numbers. I'll also have to check the distance from the train station to the hotel at Pacific Beach.

Are you staying in Pacific Beach because you want to specifically stay there? I only ask because PB is not a very central location to the zoo, SW, or the rest of the hotspots in San Diego, so if you're concerned about location and transportation, I wouldn't particularly pick PB. If, however, you wanted to stay in PB, then that's different.

 

[skiingfast]

Patsgirl:
Since you mentioned the Citypass, I would make use of the 3 day hopper you get to DL. Of course you already got the spend another day in DL advice, if 100 people reply, you will hear it 100 more times. It's just that worthwhile when you have the chance.

Also consider if you want to go to Hollywood there is a decent citypass for that. You might also want to go to the famous Santa Monica pier and watch some sufers if not ride the rides.

Also keep in mind nothing is really centralized in SoCal. Except from hotels on Harbor to DLR don't expect to walk anywhere. You won't need the car at DL but everywhere else it's a good idea. Otherwise the cab fares will add up. I just think in your situation a rental is the best fit.

 

[nana50]

Being a San Diego girl, I suggest you drop a few days off L.A. and spend them at Disneyland and San Diego. San Diego is a much prettier city and so much to see. There is Coronado, the gaslamp, legoland, Sea world, Wild Animal Park, The Zoo, Balboa Park, the list goes on and on.

 

[taaren]

I don't know if I would forget about Universal, since the Jaws feature is neat, but if you don't want to get a car in L.A. then, yeah, its probably not worth it. However, you will have to get a car once you're in SD because the zoo and SW are about 1/2 hour drive apart so the car will definitely run you less than a minimum $50 cab fare each way if you stay close to one or the other. The main thing that drives up prices on a rental car is a drop fee if you return it someplace other than where you rent it (though my brother has picked up a car in SD and dropped it off at LAX with no fee through Fox Rentals .... service isn't great there but that's the tradeoff for a cheap rental with no drop fee). So maybe if you stayed at DL for the first three nights, just rented a car at DL one day to go see Hollywood or there might be some tours that take you there and back as a package deal (though then you're on somebody else's schedule), then picked up a different car once you get to SD for a few days you could do it cheaply ....
If it weren't for my fearless DH we would never drive in SoCal because even though I lived in the East Bay (SF area) for 10 years, L.A. drivers still scare me (seen too many accidents with cars on the median rails there when I was younger and braver).

 

[PatsGirl]

Looks like a car rental will run me around $400 for the week, pick up LGB drop off SAN and I can't imagine that cabs/busses would add up to that much, not to mention at least another $50 in parking fees.

Rental for SAN only is about $125 so I'll definately look into that once I find out if my friend can help us out at all. I think the hotel we are staying at is just a few miles from SW. We picked the hotel because I really wanted to spend a few days right on the beach/boardwalk area. We're not much for the city don't need much nightlife other than a decent restaurant. But if you still recommend we stay off the beach could you recommend a hotel in the $150 range?

I'm still debating the LA thing. Will definately schedule AT LEAST two DL days but could someone tell me specifically what we should NOT MISS in LA? I'd like to research two or three places and come up with a half day ~ the Hollywood sign? Rodeo Drive? The Chinese Theatre? I'm not at all familiar with any of these. Should we do a backlot tour someplace? Or skip it altogether?

Thanks again, I do really appreciate the responses and I'll be sure to pay you back with a trip report

 

[PatsGirl]

It just occurred to me that maybe I should rent a car our last day in DL, drive it to Hollywood for sightseeing and Santa Monica Pier, keep it overnight and then drive down to SAN to whatever park is farthest from our hotel, returning it that evening? I'll have to check that out. It gets us two days car rental with transport to the places the furthest away and saves on train fare. How does that sound?

 

[PatsGirl]

It looks like Budget will rent mid-morning Tuesday though Wednesday evening for $150 inclusive, LGB to SAN or Advantage (is this a decent place) LAX to SAN, I'll have to check shuttles from the hotel to the rental/airport prices and see if this is doable.

 

[skiingfast]

The catch is you will need the rental in San Diego the most. Only in LA if you go to certain spots.

You will need to get from port to DL. Some shuttles are $30pp. To Hollywood, you can take a cab to the Anaheim Train station, $15x2. Metro Train to LA union station, $6x2pp. Subway to Hollywood. This will let you see the Stars, Chinese Movie Theater, and Hollywood Sign.

You can take the train down to SD, agains cab to anahiem train station $15. The Amtrak of the Merto(LA) and trandfer onto the Coaster(SD) this runs every half hour. $25-$20pp. Then a cab to the car rentals, there are some location just a half mile away. $12.

It's all going to add up. But keep in mind if you rent a car in LA. DLR is not near LGB, so add on $25 for a cab. You also might check location at the SNA airport. Also you can rent from Alamor in DTD and some hotels on Harbor have rental desks and avoid another taxi.



In SD you won't stay in a hotel near SW or the Zoo. You will need a car to get to either one or use buses. I agree stay near the beach and rent a car there.

 

[sonnyjane]

Looks like a car rental will run me around $400 for the week, pick up LGB drop off SAN and I can't imagine that cabs/busses would add up to that much, not to mention at least another $50 in parking fees.

Rental for SAN only is about $125 so I'll definately look into that once I find out if my friend can help us out at all. I think the hotel we are staying at is just a few miles from SW. We picked the hotel because I really wanted to spend a few days right on the beach/boardwalk area. We're not much for the city don't need much nightlife other than a decent restaurant. But if you still recommend we stay off the beach could you recommend a hotel in the $150 range?

If you want a beach hotel, then keep the ressie in PB. If the $400 for the week rental is too steep, I still think renting the car while in San Diego for $125 is the way to go. You could easily surpass that $125 in cab fare and tips in 4 days. Just to give you an idea of cab fare, last month I took a cab from my house to the airport which is a 7 mile drive. The cab fare was $37.00 after tip and tax. Just going to one or two places round trip, you can see how it will add up to more than $125. There is a bus system here but I'm not very familiar with their routes or schedules. The only part of public transportation I use here is the trolley, but that doesn't go to the zoo or SW, so I'm not much help to you there.

 

[PatsGirl]

Okay, so I've revised the plan and added a rental car and in the meantime had a "duh" moment and realized we aren't flying out until Sunday (Easter) so that adds a little more wiggle room.

The tentative plan at this point is to disembark as early as possible, shuttle to DL ($48) and spend Sunday and Monday at the two parks there. I'd like to see Downtown Disney Tuesday morning and have lunch there maybe. I got a rental car from Avis-West Katella for $185 for drop off in SAN on the day we fly out. After lunch we'll pick up the car, head to Universal for a 1/2 day until closing and stay locally. In the am we will tour Hollywood and then drive to Santa Monica pier for a few hours and head to SAN after rush hour. Will a 1/2 day at Universal be enough time or should I switch the days, do Santa Monica the afternoon we leave DL, see the Hollywood sights that night, and then Universal for a full day on Wed?

Plan to arrive SAN late Wednesday night, do SW on Thursday, see the local sights and beach time on Friday, and the SD Zoo on Saturday. I'll meet up with my friend at some point convenient to them while we are there. The original plan was to take Amtrak to SAN but now that I'll be driving is there any Must-Stop places on our way south?

How does this sound? Feel free to direct me otherwise if something will work better...

 

[PatsGirl]

Once I read my itinerary written out, I realized it needed to be changed We'll spend more time at DL the third day, drive to Santa Monica pier for the afternoon and do Universal the following day so we don't have to rush and stay two nights in Hollywood leaving Thursday morning after rush hour and take our time driving down the coast, spending the day at the beach/sights there, leaving Friday and Saturday for SW and the zoo.

So, two nights in Anaheim (Candy Cane Inn), two nights in Hollywood (Beverly Garland), and three nights in SAN (BW Blue Sea Lodge).

Hopefully, the itinerary is getting better, not worse, lol...

 

[taaren]

Nope sounds like you've got a good plan going at some very reasonable prices!